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| Fruit should appear as fruit and taste like it! |
Of course, when our daughter saw it, she asked for it. Not to have a fight about cereal, we opened it, although adding no milk to it, but only putting some in her hand for taste. Telling her to taste each color, and then she spoke that they all tasted the same. Then she said, " why would they call it fruit loops"? She tasted the last color exploding with the sugared flavor, she shook her head, and walked away and I am left holding this small box of cereal, oops I mean this box of sugar and put it away for good. ( And I was wondering how someone could get away with telling another as a child that the colored stuff was fruit!) Now anything from the beginning given as a lie will not make a foundation firm for anything!
On thinking about this early on today, I was reminded of an incident that is in the Old Testament. It was this: Genesis 38: It came to pass at that time that Judah departed from his brother's and visited a certain Adullamite whose name was Hirah. 2 And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua, and he married her and went in to her. 3 So she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name Er. 4 She conceived again and bore a son, and she called his name Onan. 5 And she conceived yet again and bore a son and called His name Shelah. He was at Chezib when she bore him. 6 Then Judah took a wife for Er his first-born, and her name was Tamar. 7 But Er, Judah's firstborn was wicked in the sight of the LORD and the LORD killed him.
You know visiting others not with God, is everything outside of God and outside of purpose in God. Judah lusted after a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua. From the Dake's study Bible, they listed Er as being fifteen years old when he took Tamar as his wife!
Genesis 38: 8 and Judah said to Onan, "Go in to your brother's wife and marry her and raise up an heir to your brother." 9 But Onan knew that the heir would not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in to his brother's wife, that he emitted on the ground, lest he should give an heir to his brother. 10 And the thing which he did displeased the LORD; therefore He killed him also. 11 Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, "remain a widow in your father's house till my son Shelah is grown." For he said, "Lest he also die like his brothers." And Tamar went and dwelt in her father's house.
Genesis 38:12 Now in the process of time the daughter of Shua, Judah's wife died; and Judah was comforted, and went up to his sheep-shearers at Timnah, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. 13 And it was told Tamar, saying, "Look, your father -in- law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep. 14 So she took off her widow's garments, covered herself with a veil and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place which was on the way to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given to him as a wife. 15 Then he turned to her by the way, and said, " Please let me come in to you" ; for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. So she said, "what will you give me, that you may come in to me?" 17 And he said, "I will send a young goat from the flock." So she said, " "will you give me a pledge till you send it?" 18 Then he said, "What pledge shall I give you?" so she said, "Your signet and cord, and your staff that is in your hand." Then he gave them to her and went in to her and she conceived by him. 19 So she arose and went away, and laid aside her veil and put on the garments of her widowhood. 20 And Judah sent the young goat by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive his pledge from the woman's hand, but he did not find her.
Genesis 38: 21 Then he asked the men of that place, saying, "Where is the harlot who was openly by the roadside?" and they said, "There was no harlot in this place." 22 So he returned to Judah and said, "I cannot find her. Also, the men of the place said there was no harlot in this place." 23 Then Judah said, "Let her take them for herself, lest we be shamed; for I sent this young goat and you have not found her." 24 And it came to pass, about three months after, that Judah was told, saying, "Tamar your daughter -in-law has played the harlot; furthermore she is with child by harlotry." So Judah said, "Bring her out and let her be burned!"
Genesis 38:25 When she was brought out, she sent to her father-in-law, saying, "By the man to whom these belong, I am with child." and she said, "Please determine whose these are---the signet, and cord and staff." 26 So Judah acknowledged them and said, "She has been more righteous than I, because I did not give her to Shelah my son." And he never knew her again. 27 Now it came to pass, at the time for giving birth, that behold, twins were in her womb. 28 And so it was, when she was giving birth, that the one put out his hand; and the midwife took a scarlet thread and bound it on his hand, saying, "this one came out first." 29 Then it happened, as he drew back his hand, that his brother came out unexpectedly; and she said, "How did you break through? This breach be upon you!" therefore his name was called Perez. 30 Afterward his brother came out who had the scarlet thread on his hand. and his name was called Zerah.
Humans can be moved by immoral acts. BUT Born-again people should not be moved by that in regards that they are regenerated by the Holy Spirit into living for God. But here we have a man who made a promise. Evidently the man was making promises he could not keep and she, Tamar, knew him for being the immoral and without restraint and integrity. For he had sent her away to live in her father's house till the boy, Shelah, became a man. Now remember in those days, the men mostly took young girls for wives, so Tamar was probably not much older than Shelah when he was born.
Still, this Judah acted out a scene he had done before. His wife now gone and his time of living returned without her by his side, he goes to help shear his own sheep. And he sees this woman beside the two springs area. She has the look of the "harlot". She has on eye makeup and the attire of a harlot. But knowing his habits, she requires his authority be given her. She required his signet, his cord and staff. So when the Adullamite shows up with a goat, the woman is not found. No one has seen "this harlot".
Interesting how you can get someone to see the harlot and others do not see! Judah's plan then is to tell no one of what occurred. But alas this Tamar is pregnant. And she has those objects in her possession. The righteous is seen and the unrighteous wanted to hide his real identity and the object of his pride being outwitted.
In truth, Judah rejected the covenant family's marriage traditions seen in Genesis 24:3 " and I will make you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell;; Genesis 28:1 Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, and charged him and said to him: "You will not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan. So here we have the son Er, and was the wicked person in the Lord's sight and married to Tamar!
So Tamar was left behind in that marriage when Er was killed because of wickedness. Then Onan would not mate with her for children and he was killed. Disreputable behavior can be seen when one starts to lie and call something what it is not. Because the father, Judah was enamored with those God said to stay away from, his own boys became like what he lusted about. His first son was wicked like those people Judah married into. And Onan, well, he chose to spill his own fluids on the ground and this was evil in the sight of God, too. It was Judah's marriage to the Canaanite woman that was the very first step into intermingling of God's people with a race that was the proverbial for its gross immorality. God had warned them not to do that. Judah fratenized with the world and paid a really big price.
Keeping authority is remembering to be righteous in the Lord. In describing the scene so clearly one would have seen this when Judah did not hesitate to bring Tamar to justice. No quiver would be found in his voice. He would not have shuddered in any kind of fearfulness to have his first son's wife brought up on these charges. It was the Israelitish society that must be preserved from folly and much wickedness. Preparations are made. The stake is planted in the ground, the pile of wood is arranged and the crowd gathers. Tamar walks into the scene. ( to me it seems like a horror movie!) But she carries the authority given her. He, Judah, who called for the justice now himself must face the justice of God!
She was righteous in what she did although dangerous.Yes, this was about reputations, pride and honoring or worshiping the wrong thing! If Judah had remained within the family heritage of covenant seen in Genesis 24:3 or Genesis 28:1, then he would have not had his life revealed as the idolater and fornicator.
Busy about life, and he forgot about God! Busy in his own ways, and he failed. He was not a man given to truth. He refused to give his son Shelah to Tamar. And she, who was influenced by no other means than that which was the common to all Israelitish women, that desire to have children who might be heirs of the promise made to Abraham, did what she could for a family she knew was hers.
Conflicts appear! And we are to be those who commit to peaceful ends, but conflict is with a fight for righteous ways in righteous behavior having that characteristic of integrity. For we prevail by God's words, a truth with no threats but warnings indeed and it only comes to those committed to work it out in the justice of God.
Even to a child of seven, our daughter did not see fruit. All she saw was a box with colored objects which the label read out was that of fruit. It did not appeal to her and from a cereal manufacturer maintaining their voice of saying it was so was wrong then and it is wrong today! Even so to us as adults should not be chasing after that which has no integrity, no life or peace in it. Because if you follow after lies for long enough, you will either become like the lie spoken or you will fight not to win over another, but fight to prevail in truth where your character is seen of righteousness and not to be appearing as a fruit loop loaded with sugar and absolutely no substance for good!
New teaching at: Voice of Prayer
Functioning Under Divine Authority
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